The stars of Gossip Girl are on the latest cover of New York Magazine, which boldly proclaims GG as the Best. Show. Ever.

No argument from us!

New York Magazine, which diligently recaps each episode, talks about how Josh Schwartz (producer), six tabloid-ready stars, an army of bloggers, and a nation of texting 'tweens are transforming TV.

The Gossip Girl article begins with a sound that is low but insistent, a hum that gradually develops into something recognizable.

OmigodOmigodOmigod. Dan DanDanDanDan.

Gotalktohimgotalktohimgotalktohim!

Samantha Ahern and a group of her girlfriends, in from Smithtown, Long Island, for Samantha's 16th birthday, are scurrying down 51st Street all at once, their legs moving quickly and purposefully.

Their eyes are glassy, their camera phones outstretched. DanDanDanDanDan. It's the Ultimate Sighting.

Gossip Girl cast, clockwise from left: Taylor Momsen, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Jessica Szhor.

Penn Badgley, who plays sensitive and wise Dan Humphrey, is standing outside the Palace Hotel, where much of the Gossip Girl action takes place.

It is there that, later today, Penn's character will hold his girlfriend Serena (Blake Lively) in his arms after she has missed the SAT for reasons unknown.

He will gaze deeply into her eyes as he says tenderly, "I'm not mad, Serena. I'm worried. Please help me understand what's going on."

He will do this with complete un-self-consciousness, despite the fact that his arch-nemesis Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), who also happens to be Serena's newly acquired stepbrother, is standing there smirking.

Dan is not the sort of teenager who fears public affection. He is sensitive, smart, and loving, not to mention hot, and to teenage girls, for whom such creatures exist only in daydreams, he is perfect.

Continue reading in New York Magazine ...

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.